Round 4
Eels 18 l. Cowboys 26

2006 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Parramatta Eels
Wade McKinnon [FB] 8 Pts; 2t
Eric Grothe [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
Mark Riddell [DH] 4 Pts; 2/3g
Brett Delaney [CT] 2 Pts; 1/1g

North Queensland Cowboys
Johnathan Thurston [F8] 10 Pts; 5/6g
Matt Sing [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
David Faiumu [DH] 4 Pts; 1t
Matthew Scott [BE] 4 Pts; 1t



Cowboys maintain unbeaten run
Fri March 31, 2006
North Queensland had to dig extremely deep to overcome being down 14-0 to defeat Parramatta 26-18 in a spirited match tonight at Parramatta Stadium. The Cowboys came into the clash in undefeated form but the night and clash was all setup for one of those special performances from the Eels and for the opening 35 minutes it looked that way.

Eric Grothe Jnr got Parramatta off to a dream start when he scored a fantastic 85m try when he stood up Matt Sing and found open space in front of him having too much speed to score under the posts with Mark Riddell converting to give Parramatta a 6-0 lead.

Wade McKinnon like a good fullback followed up the middle of the field and hit a perfect inside pass from Tim Smith catching the Cowboys off guard up the middle close to the line with McKinnon scoring. Brett Delaney added the extras to push the Eels 12 clear.

Parramatta were completely dominant and should have been leading by more but had to settle for a Riddell penalty goal to extend their margin beyond two converted tries.

The Cowboys started to get back into the match when Johnathan Thurston and Matt Bowen became more involved in attack and they nearly created a last tackle try from the halfway by running the ball. Nathan Hindmarsh dropped possession from the turnover with Matthew Scott crashing over a few tackles later. Thurston converted from near the sideline to bring North Queensland within eight points, trailing by 14-6, which remained the halftime score.

McKinnon played the ball to no one near his own line where the Cowboys dived on the loose possession. Next tackle saw David Faiumu score from the acting half position to change the momentum of the match.

Matt Sing put the Cowboys into the lead with the first of his two tries with Thurston adding his 3rd goal for North Queensland to lead 18-14.

The most controversial moment came when Riddell barged over from dummy half only for the Eels to be denied the try by the video referee. It was ruled that McKinnon who played the ball obstructed Bowen who was attempting to stop Riddell from scoring. The infringement was there even though Bowen is not exactly a tackling machine.

Parramatta lost their way after the incident with Thurston landing a penalty goal to extend the margin to a converted try. That was followed up by a great break by Rod Jenson with Sing backing up on the inside for his 152nd career try and moving himself into equal 5th position alongside Harold Horder and only behind Ken Irvine, Andrew Ettingshausen, Terry Lamb and Steve Menzies.

McKinnon scored a late try for the Eels but Riddell's missed conversion meant the game was now out of reach with the Cowboys holding on to win 26-18.

In the 61st minute both Chad Robinson and Justin Smith were sent to the sin bin following an altercation, which started when Robinson collected Brett Firman with a classic stiff arm shot in what could see him in some judiciary trouble. Parramatta duo PJ Marsh and Ben Smith sustained injuries from the match, in the three lowlights for the Eels.

North Queensland are riding high at the top of the table and deserve to be favourites alongside the Knights and Roosters whilst Parramatta have struggled to find their best but can take heart their three losses have come against Newcastle, Brisbane and North Queensland.

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